Raisin capper



NOV. 29, 1938. L KlLNER 2,138,302 7 RAI S IN C APPER Filed Aug. 9, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. [00/15 K/'//7er-' BY, I :2 22

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 29, 1938. L KILQER 2,138,302

RAISIN CAPPER Filed Aug. 9, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 WWW ATTORNEY.

Nov. 29, 1938. 1.. KlLNER 2,138,302

RAISIN CAPPER 7 Filed Aug. 9, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY 3 Z 9 a 2 ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BfAISIN CAPPER Louis Kilner, Fresno, 'Calif., assignor-to Sun-Maid This invention relates d and apparatus and has for its objects an im-'" Raisin Growers of cooperative association of California- APDI cation-August 9. 1937, Serial No. 158,193 8 Claims.- (01. 146559' toraisin cleaning methprovedmethod and apparatus for detaching the caps andthe like from raisins while passing :the raisins of travel without 'scrat fruit, and

in a continuous-flow along a path ching or mutilating the which apparatus issimple, and readily adjusted to I accommodate various sized raisins,

and is constructed to facilitate cleaning and assembly. Other objects pear in the specification hereto.

In the drawings Fig. apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side View 0 and advantages willapand drawings annexed 1 is-a side view ofthe f -my apparatus taken at right angles to the-view of Fig. 1, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fr agmentary view of a por-' tion of Fig. 2 as seen along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional along the line 4-4 of F Fig. 5 is a plan view machine.-

Indetail, my apparatus, .=comprises a pair of vertical posts I secured at viewof Fig. 1 as seen ig.-1.

of the base'only of my' above disclosed,

their lower ends in socket portions '2 at opposite outer sides of a generally cylindrical cast base 3 having" vertical tal cross member 4 extends across the lower end of base t between oppositesides'thereof, which member is centrally provided with a bearing 5" vertical shaft, described for the lower end later.

ofa

To the upper ends of sframe t disposed over the which frame t tria shaft 8 for driving the inner sides. A horizonposts" I is secured a base of thejmachine,

mounts a vertically disposed ele"cmotor l thereon connected with a driven latter, said shaft being greater part of its length and centrally mounted on said shaft are a plurality ofhollow frusto-' conical sections, three b ings, which sections are disposed one over the other with their central-axis in ment on said shaft. hated it, the middle eing shown in the drawvertical align- The upper section is desigsection H and the lowermost section |2,'and the outer surfaces of the said sections are similarly inclined rather steeply and the adjacent ends of similar diameters so of adjacent sections are that the three sections, when in position on shaft-8 virtually form a single vertically elongated frusto-conical section.

Each ofthe aforesaid .horizontal spider arms sections a is formed with l3' centrally formed with on theshaft and the keyways in the bores of members MTespectiVeIy, thus securing the sep arate' sections against rotation relative to the. shaft 8 While" permitting the section's to'be' slid onto the shaft longitudinally of the shaft.

Lock. nuts 16 on shaft 8'below'section' l2 support the sections at the lower end of the section assembly and above the upper section in 'is a conical cap I! supported on shaft'B in substantially the same'manneras the'sections there-- on.' The lower edges of said'cap engage over the upper edges of 'upper section it," and the shaft 8 "passes through an opening in the cap at the apex and then upwardly throughtube 18 to the motor. The above described cap I! functions to cover the upper open end of the upper section H3 and to guide raisins downwardly over its slanted outer surface to over the outer sides of the sections.

Each of the sections Hi to I2 inclusive is coveredon its outer slanted sides with a rubber sheet itvulcanized, or otherwise suitably secured thereto, each sheet beingformed on its outer side with generally vertically extending corrugations forming lands 20 and grooves 2! (Fig. 3) said lands and grooves respectively being of substantially equal width, the lands 'having slightly tapered sides as seen in Fig. 3. The width of the grooves is such that raisins, indi-- catedat 22Ywill not become wedged therein, and the rubber is relativelysoft.

Enclosing the outer lateral sides of sections id to 82 inclusive are upper (23) and lower (E l) shells, of substantially frusto-conical shape, each having an inner covering of sheet metal 25 likewise or generally frusto-conical shape secured therein. The inner sides of the plates 25am in the same plane, the said-plates being disposed one over the other with the enlarged lower end of the upper plate in substantial engagement with, the restrictedupper end of the lower plate, andthe inner surfaces of the plates being spaced from and substantially parallelwith the outer sides of the sections. Secured over the inner surfaces of the plates are sheets 26 of rubber bearing generally vertically extending lands 20"and-grooves 2l of'subs'tantially the same dimensionsand character as thoseon the outer to lightly engage therebetween the raisins 22 upon rotation of the sections and shells relatively, so as to cause a rolling of the raisins in passing downwardly in the space 27 between the adjacent corrugated surfaces of the sheets I9, 26 without breaking or scratching the skins of the raisins, said rolling of the raisins being sufficient, however, to detach the caps from the raisins, which caps will, of course, fall freely out of the lower ends of the grooves 2|, 2i onto a conveyor belt 28, together with the de-capped raisins that continuously work through the machine during revolution of the sections relative to the shells.

Each shell, including the inner plate 25 and rubber sheet therein, is divided vertically into halves, and each half is provided with a single bracket secured thereto adjacent the lines of division on opposite lateral sides of each shell. Thus a bracket 30 is secured to the upper end of one of the halves of shell 23, and a bracket 3! is secured to the upper end of the other half of shell 23 on the opposite side of the shell. Similarly, a bracket 33 is secured to the upper end of one of the halves of shell 24 directly below bracket 3! and a bracket 34 is secured to the other half of shell 24 directly below bracket 30. The outer ends of said brackets are provided with bearings slidably and rotatably embracing post i, the bearings on brackets 3|, 34 embracing the post at one side of the machine and the bearings on brackets 30, 34 embracing the posts at the opposite side.

It will be seen from the foregoing, that the halves of the upper shell and the halves of the lower shell are free to slide vertically on the posts, and to also swing on the posts away from the inner sections to expose the rubber inner sides of the halves as well as the outer rubber sheets on the sections.

The upper end of the upper shell is formed with an axially inwardly facing annular groove 35 (Fig. 2) disposed outwardly of the inner sides of the shell and removably secured in said groove when the halves of the shell are together, is an outwardly projecting annular flange 36 formed around the outer side of the restricted end of a generally funnel shaped raisin receiving hopper 31. When the halves of the upper shell are swung apart, this hopper is, of course, removable, but otherwise the flange is secured within groove 35.

The lower end portion of the lower shell is formed around with a cylindrical outer surface 38 adapted to slidably and rotatably fit within the generally cylindrical base 3 of the machine.

The vertically adjacent halves respectively of the upper and lower shells are preferably bolted together by bolts 39, thus the brackets 3|, 33 function together as upper and lower hinges for the halves to which they are secured and brackets 32, 34 function as hinges for the other halves. Hence, the vertically adjacent halves on opposite sides of the sections will swing as units when the shells are elevated so that the lower end 38 of the lower shell will clear the cylindrical base 3, while the base will hold the shell halves together when the shells are lowered.

The means for elevating the shells comprises a vertically extending screw 40 rotatably secured at its upper end in frame 6 and at its lower end threadedly extending through one arm 42 of a pair of arms cast integrally with and extending laterally outwardly of the hopper, the outer end of said arm being formed with a bearing slidably embracing the one of the posts I, while the opposite arm 43 is formed with a bearing slidably embracing the other post. A vertical guide bar 44 depending vertically from the frame 6 is journaled in arm 43 for sliding of the arm vertically on said bar when the screw 40 is rotated to cause raising or lowering of the shells. The upper end of shaft 6 connects by means of any conventional worm and helical gear connection, enclosed in gear box 45, with a manually operable wheel and handle 41 for rotating the screw, thus permitting manual raising or lowering of the shells to any desired degree, whereby the shells may be elevated clear of base 3 for opening the shells or for spacing the outer rubber corrugations of the sections from the inner rubber corrugations of the shells as the desired distance. This adjustment may, of course, be accomplished while the apparatus is in operation.

Other details of construction include a horizontal metal disk 48 removably secured around its edges, as by screws, to a downwardly facing shoulder 49 formed within lower end of the lower section l2, which disk is centrally apertured to pass the shaft 8. This metal disk prevents dust and other materials from collecting inside the sections. Also the adjacent edges of the upper and lower shells are formed to provide a rabbet-joint, the annular lower edge of the upper shell bearing the flange fitting in the relieved upper outer corner of the upper edge of the lower shell, as seen in Fig. 2.

In constructing the shells, I preferably secure the plates 25 to the shells by stove bolts and the rubber sheets 26 carrying the corrugations are in turn secured to the plates or frame by elevator head bolts with the heads of all the bolts on the inner sides of the shells, as indicated in Fig. 3. However, it is manifest that the shell halves respectively may be solid with the rubber vulcanized to its inner surface. Likewise, the upper and lower shells may be made in one piece, and the sections also in one piece, but the construction disclosed is preferable.

In operation the raisins are fed into the funnel hopper 31 by any suitable means, such as a chute 50 while the sections H to [2 inclusive are being revolved on shaft 8 say at a speed of about 870 R. P. M. The raisins at this stage have caps or calyxes secured thereto and in passing between the adjacent corrugated rubber surfaces the raisins are rolled slightly separating caps therefrom, and the caps and raisins continue to fall downwardly through the space between the sections and shells until they drop out of the lower open end onto a conveyor belt or the like, for subsequent separation of the freed caps from the raisins.

I am aware of the previous use of inner and outer cones somewhat similar in shape to my device, such for example, as in the patent to L. Payne, et al, No. 1,935,951, but my apparatus has been found to remove the caps from the raisins without scratching and mutilating the raisins, both by reason of the use of opposed surfaces of corrugated rubber, and by reason of the fact that the removed caps, and any other undesirable hard foreign material falls vertically in the grooves in the rubber thus being away from a position where they may scratch the raisins, and also, the raisins upon being slightly rolled between the corrugations are freed from any other undesirable material that may tend to adhere to the raisins.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of substantially circular rows of generally vertically extending spaced ribs of relatively soft material arranged in spaced concentric relation, means mounting said rows one within the other in said relation for movement of one of the rows relative to the other about a generally vertical axis common to both rows, means for passing raisins to between said rows at the upper ends thereof for downward passage between said rows, and means for causing said movement of one of the rows of ribs relative to the other and means for causing simultaneous movement of the ribs of one row toward and away from the ribs of the other row during relative movement of the rows about said vertical axis.

2. In a construction as defined in claim 1, the means mounting the rows respectively including a sheet of material similar to that of the ribs supporting each row of ribs thereon, the ribs of each row being formed integrally with the sheet supporting the same.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of generally vertically disposed members arranged one within the other with the outer lateral surface of the inner member spaced from the inner lateral surface of the outer member, said outer and inner surfaces respectively being of frusto-conical shape and substantially parallel, means mounting said members with their frustoconical surfaces concentric to a central common vertical axis, and a plurality of spaced ribs of resilient material on the inner surface of the outer member and on the outer surface of the inner member extending generally longitudinally of said axis, means for revolving one of said members on said axis relative to the other member and means for feeding raisins to the space between said members for manipulation of said raisins by said ribs.

l. In apparatus of the character described, a pair of substantially hollow, vertically elongated, generally conical shaped members disposed one within the other with their bases down and their adjacent sides concentric to the central vertical axis of the inner member, the adjacent sides of said members being spaced apart, row of resilient ribs projecting from the sides of at least one of said members into the space between the adjacent sides of the pair, the ribs of said row extending longitudinally of the members and the side of the other member facing said ribs being of relatively soft resilient material, the space between the members opening outwardly at the upper and lower ends of one pair, means for revolving one of said members on said axis relative to the other member, and means for supporting one of said members in various positions vertically relative to the other member for varying the spacing between the outer surfaces of the ribs and the adjacent side of the other member.

5. In a construction as defined in claim 4, the outside members of the pair being divided vertically into halves, means removably securing the halves stogether, means mounting one of the halves for swinging horizontally outwardly relative to the other half for exposing a side of the other member.

6. In a construction as defined in claim 4, a supporting frame for supporting said members in position one within the other, said frame including a base portion adjacent the lower ends of said members and a head portion adjacent the upper ends of the members, and spaced posts extending between the head and base portions, the outer member of said pair being slidably connected with said posts for vertical movement of said outer member, means supporting the inner member against vertical movement, said outer member being divided vertically into halves, means adjacent the line of division hingedly connecting the halves for horizontally swinging said halves apart for exposing the inner member,-and means formed on the base portion for securing the halves together against swinging apart.

7. In a raisin cap stemming machine including an outer cone, an inner cone spaced from the outer cone, means to feed raisins between the cones, and means to rotate one cone relative to the other, the adjacent faces of the cones being of resilient material corrugated longitudinally of the cones, said corrugations being closely spaced and relatively deep.

8. In a raisin cap stemming machine including an outer cone, an inner cone spaced from the outer cone, means to feed raisins between the cones, and means to rotate one cone relative to the other, the adjacent faces of the cones being of resilient material, and one of said faces being corrugated longitudinally of the cones, said corrugations being closely spaced and; relatively deep.

LOUIS KILNER. 

